Language & Social Ontology (John Searle)

A wonderful talk given by John Searle at the University of Oslo back in 2011 on language and social ontology. He attempts to explain the distinctive features of human civilization. Animals have forms of social organization and communication, but they do not have money, property, government, and marriage. Why not? Human institutional facts are created and maintained by a specific type of linguistic representation that he calls a "status function declaration." This operation can be performed over and over again on a wide range of subjects. It creates and maintains systems of deontic power: rights, duties, obligations and empowerments of various kinds. These provide the glue that hold human society together. They do that by providing humans with desire independent reasons for action, that is, reasons for doing things that are independent of their immediate inclinations.
This talk was given in 2011 by John Searle in Oslo.
#Philosophy #Language #Searle

[@Noitisnt-ns7mo]

Phones, hormones and abstract thought. Good luck with that.

[@alejandrarodriguezsanchez6667]

is the distinction between ontological and epistemic subjective or objective? and why?

[@michaelaristidou2605]

All that to basically say that humans use and create tools. Real and abstract. 🤔

[@helenlauer9545]

your reductive, oversimplisitic observation reminds me of a saying (at the risk of seeming sycophantic but what the hell): 'when Einstein walks into a room, all the pickpocket sees is pockets.'

[@michaelaristidou2605]

@@helenlauer9545 ...i think you should have s€x a bit more often, like 2 times a year. It will be good for u.

[@Noitisnt-ns7mo]

If you talk to my equivocating brother, you may see the relevance between the vacuous versus the tangible. Like a "Who's on First" routine. See "Propositional attitude" , in wiki. Our present culture is a great example of "a desire: world-to-mind Direction Of Fit" , vs "a belief: mind-to-world Direction Of Fit."- Learning is an excellent way to see past the lies and the ALGORITHMS/MANIPULATIONS.